Panel: Eviction filings at record highs in Oregon; legal aid and rent assistance credited with preventing homelessness

At an informational hearing on May 28, the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness heard from legal aid and housing providers about recent eviction trends in Oregon and the role of prevention programs.

Sybil Hebb, director at the Oregon Law Center, told the committee that "in 2024, we've reached an uncomfortable milestone of having the most evictions ever filed in Oregon," and that more than 27,000 eviction actions were filed statewide last year, about 87% for nonpayment of rent. Hebb said filings averaged slightly more than 2,200 per month in 2024 and that filings in the first five months of 2025 were running a bit higher, at over 2,300 per month.

Hebb described the scale of housing cost burden in the state and who it affects. "One in four households have rents that cost more than 50% of their income," she said, and noted that cost burden is spreading into middle‑income categories that previously were less affected. She also said the presence of a child in a household is a significant risk factor for eviction and that eviction rates for Black women are roughly double those for white households.

Speakers described the effectiveness of prevention. The Oregon Law Center's Eviction Defense Project reported contact with about 10,000 households facing eviction in the past year; in cases where tenants received both legal assistance and rent assistance, Hebb said housing was retained in 91% of cases, compared with a 51% retention rate in nonpayment cases overall. Mid Willamette Valley Community Action reported preventing 786 evictions last year, helping about 1,891 people at an average cost of $1,180 per person.

Kemp Shuey, executive director of Community Action serving Washington County, described the agency's experience scaling eviction prevention since 2020: "By the end of the summer of 2020, community action was serving nearly 500 households per month," he said, and reported that Community Action has distributed over $57,000,000 in eviction prevention assistance and helped prevent eviction for more than 7,500 households since 2020. Shuey said more than 90% of households served in recent months received assistance as a one‑time intervention.

Jonathan Clay, with Multifamily Northwest, said housing providers support continued rental assistance and eviction prevention funding and urged expansion of in‑person RentWell training to help renters maintain tenancies. Clay said the RentWell ask would be $1,500,000 to expand in‑person programming.

Committee members asked for more details on noncourt displacement (residents leaving after notices that do not result in court filings) and on the employment status of tenants facing eviction. Hebb said available research suggests informal departures may amount to two to five times the number of court filings, but there is no public registry tracking notices. On employment, Hebb said the majority of tenants seeking assistance are employed in some capacity, though wages often do not keep pace with rent.

Panelists urged continued and stable funding for rental assistance and legal aid to prevent displacement and reduce costs associated with homelessness. Several witnesses encouraged the committee to include support for eviction prevention in budget bills and for ongoing training and outreach to reduce future evictions.

The committee asked witnesses to provide any additional data they can on repeat requests for assistance, informal notices and employment status of tenants; panelists said they would attempt to follow up with the committee and provide available data.

The committee adjourned after the second informational panel.